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Extraterrestrial Real Estate
Extraterrestrial Real Estate described land on other planets or natural satellites or parts of outer space for which there is some legal title, whether recognized or not by other possible claimants. Private claims to real estate depend on the willingness of states to enforce them and as yet no government claims any extraterrestrial territory. Although the 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids such territorial claims, the treaty cannot be enforced. Once a space faring power like China or Russia claims extraterrestrial territory, it may then recognize legal title to real estate within that sovereign territory. Legal Issues The United Nations sponsored 1967 Outer Space Treaty" established all of outer space as an international commons by describing it as the "province of all mankind" and forbidding all the nations from claiming territorial sovereignty. The international Moon Treaty, finalised in 1979 and entering into force in 1984, forbids private ownership of extraterrestrial real estate and none of these are major space-faring nations. Kazakhstan has ratified the treaty and is host to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, the facility is operated through a leasing agreement by Russia. India, with unmanned space missions of its own, has also signed the treaty. Whether these two treaties are the last word on the subject is obviously disputed. The Outer Space Treaty permits states to withdraw from its terms with one year's notification. Private purchase schemes A number of individuals and organisations offer schemes or plans claiming to allow people to purchase portions of the Moon or other celestial bodies. Though the details of some of the schemes' legal arguments vary, one goes so far as to state that although the Outer Space Treaty, which entered force in 1967, forbids countries from claiming celestial bodies, there is no such provision forbidding private individuals from doing so. However, Article VI of this treaty states "The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty." Thus, while it does not explicitly prohibit such schemes, the treaty does require they be authorized by the schemers' government. Many countries have corollaries to their real estate and property laws to prevent wanton claiming of new-found lands, that state that a simple claim to the territory is not enough; the claimant must also demonstrate "intent to occupy", something that, at this time, is obviously difficult to do with the Moon or any other celestial body. No government has granted any of the schemes' "deeds" legal validity. The short story The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein, which was written in 1949, offers a portrayal regarding such plans or schemes, and created the concept of a Lunar Republic. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land also makes reference to a space law case called the Larkin Decision. Ownership of empty space Ownership of empty space can be thought of as a different issue from that of land ownership on extraterrestrial bodies, because of its emptiness, the difficulty of defining its bounds, and the difficulty of keeping anything within it. The United Nations "Outer Space Treaty" reserves space for the good of mankind, and effectively prohibits private ownership of arbitrary parcels of empty space, although governments which have not signed the relevant treaties may dispute the UN's authority in this matter. A space ownership issue of current practical importance is the allocation of slots for satellites in geostationary orbit. This is managed by the International Telecommunication Union. The 1976 Declaration of the First Meeting of Equatorial Countries, also known as the Bogotá Declaration, signed by several countries located on the Earth's equator, attempted to assert sovereignty over those portions of the geosynchronous orbit that continuously lie over the signatory nation's territory. The obvious problem is that lacked serious space programs. Source * John Hickman and Everett Dolman. "Resurrecting the Space Age: A State-Centered Commentary on the Outer Space Regime." Comparative Strategy. Vol. 21, Issue 1, November 11, 2010. text